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Supermac has building permission for a € 10 million Barack Obama Plaza style motorway facility on the outskirts of Ennis in Co Clare, off the M18 motorway.
The Clare County Council Development Grant in Kilbreckan, Doora, outside Ennis is the latest twist in a planning saga that has spanned just under five years.
The fast food business submitted its first plan in January 2016 for a freeway plaza outside Ennis. It attracted opposition from several local Ennis businesses.
An earlier application was clouded by controversy after it emerged in 2018 that false letters of support were submitted to the council.
At the time, Supermac said he was “horrified” to learn from the media about the fake letters “and repudiates the actions taken and wants to completely distance himself from them.”
On Friday, Supermac’s CEO Pat McDonagh said he was “delighted” with the board’s decision.
“There is nothing on that highway between Limerick and Tuam. Something is going to happen somewhere and it will be a great loss to Ennis if they don’t get one there. “
He added: “I think it will be very good for Clare and Ennis and good for the employment in that area.”
McDonagh said the plan will provide about 100 jobs.
“It’s a win-win situation.”
Shocked
Ennis’s proposal is not on the same scale as Obama’s Moneygall plaza, McDonagh said.
McDonagh said a lot of local people have been asking him for the past few years, “When are you going to open in Ennis?”
He said: “It is obvious that it is necessary, otherwise they would not be asking the question.”
McDonagh said similar Supermac developments outside of other cities have not had a negative impact on those locations.
A group objection from five local businesses that are all members of the Ennis Start-up House said that due to the excessive scale of the proposal, it will “act as a counter attraction” for Ennis and Clarecastle and “will have a detrimental impact on the vitality and viability of these centers ”.
Third parties have the option of appealing the council’s decision to An Bord Pleanála.
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